The History of Darth Quisling
by Esther Huffleclaw
Summary: An AU tale. What if Luke had killed the Emperor?


**The History of Darth Quisling**

_Esther Spurrill_

After Luke's final battle with Darth Vader, he stood over the fallen Sith Lord. He had just cut off Vader's sword hand, sending hand and saber plummeting out of sight. The Emperor approached, praising the young Jedi and encouraging him to finish his father. Enraged, but suddenly realizing who it really was that he hated, Luke spun and threw his lightsaber at the Sith Master. Palpatine had no time to react. Luke's saber passed through his decaying body, leaving a smoking hole in his chest. As he stood stunned, Luke leapt at him, snatching his saber from the air as it returned to him, and slashed the Emperor's head from his shoulders. The lifeless body of the most powerful man in the universe fell helplessly to the floor.

Luke stood over the body, a strange joy coursing through him. He had liked killing this old man. Horrified at himself, Luke deactivated his lightsaber and stared in shock at the body. He didn't hear Vader approach, didn't know his father stood watching him until Vader spoke: "Luke?"

The young man raised his head and stared at his father. "You're free," he whispered.

But Vader shook his head. "No," he said, almost sadly. "And neither are you."

Luke and Vader escaped the Death Star just before it exploded. Vader set course for Coruscant. Luke was very quiet. He was unsure why he went with Vader. He did not seem to be a prisoner of the Sith Lord; in fact, Vader didn't order Luke to come with him and they traveled together companionably. Luke followed his father willingly and Vader didn't seem surprised.

Upon their arrival at Coruscant, Vader took charge of everything. With amazing skill, he stepped into the void left by Palpatine and gathered the reins of power into his hands (first, he had another robotic hand-made to replace the one he had lost). Throughout all of this, Luke was by his father's side.

As soon as he had cemented power for himself, Vader declared himself Emperor. Then he began to train his son in the Dark Side of the Force. Luke wondered why he had ever feared the Dark Side; it was not like Yoda and Obi-Wan had said: he was only accepting a part of himself that he had long denied. He was finally complete. He was Darth Quisling.

Vader and Quisling rebuilt the Empire that had begun to crumble under Palpatine. The destruction of the Death Star meant little to them: their strength was in the Force, not in weapons made with hands.

To ensure his dominance, Vader traveled to all the planets under Imperial rule, and met with planetary governments. Quisling was always by his father's side, learning governance and diplomacy, and quietly introducing himself as the new Emperor's trusted friend. Many planetary leaders accepted Emperor Vader without question, and those who did not were convinced to change their minds: Vader would choke the offending malcontent and Quisling would almost immediately beg his father to consider other methods of persuasion. Without fail, every being thus handled would pledge allegiance to the New Empire and would be worshipfully loyal to Lord Quisling. Vader and Quisling also used this method on any who disobeyed or disappointed them, and soon Darth Quisling's name was whispered in awe and reverence among the peoples of the Empire.

When Luke did not return from his confrontation with Vader, Leia worried. Han tried to cheer her by reminding her that she had claimed to know that Luke was not aboard the Death Star when it exploded. But Leia couldn't shake the feeling that Luke was somehow still in trouble; he wasn't dead, but something was wrong.

In the days and weeks following the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebels were amazed when no retribution came from the Empire. Then their intelligence gatherers informed them that the Emperor was dead and Vader had taken over. Of course, Vader was too busy establishing his rule over the Empire to deal with the Rebellion right now. It was a welcome respite, a chance to regroup and repair.

But still Leia could not relax. "I know something is wrong," she told Han.

He agreed: "Luke would have come back if he could."

Most of the Rebels paid little attention when the Rebellion received news of Lord Quisling. Vader had stood with Palpatine and now this new Sith stood with Vader. It was to be expected. However, Leia found she couldn't get Quisling out of her mind. Did he really convince Vader to show mercy? Why? Who was he?

Leia remembered Luke's words before he left: she was the left hope for the Rebels if he did not return. In order to stand against the Sith, the Rebellion must include Jedi; therefore, Leia must somehow learn to be one. The only way she could think to begin without Luke's guidance was to go to Obi-Wan Kenobi's house on Tatooine. Perhaps she could find something there that would help her. When she announced her plans, Han and Chewbacca insisted on taking her there in the Millennium Falcon.

In the Jedi's house, Leia found a book about Jedi training that included plans for building a lightsaber. With Han and Chewie's help, she found the parts she needed in Anchorhead. Then, while Han and Chewie watched with much curiosity, she carefully cut and fired a focusing gem and put together her first lightsaber.

**Chapter One**

Darth Quisling looked around his huge, lavish room. He couldn't help comparing it with the tiny room he had shared with Han when he was Luke Skywalker, the Rebel. _Han._ Quisling wondered what he was up to now. Whatever it was, Han was probably with Chewie and Leia. _Leia. My sister._ With study and practice, she could be a powerful Jedi. Could she—would she—be a threat? Maybe she should be turned to the Dark Side. But that would have to be discussed with Vader, and if Vader agreed, Quisling would have to turn her—or kill her. He wasn't prepared to face that right now. Only…what if he didn't tell Vader? If he could turn Leia, they wouldn't need Vader. Quisling would be the Master. They could kill Vader, take over…Luke recoiled from such thoughts: _He's my father!_

_But I hated him_, Quisling pondered.

_Never!_ Luke thought forcefully. _I love my father. I hated the Emperor._

Quisling shook his head. _I hated him when he threatened Leia. I wanted to kill him. That's when I cut off his hand._ Quisling looked at his own robotic hand, flexed its fingers. _He cut off my hand too—just before he told me._ Quisling's robotic hand clenched into a fist. _Obi-Wan never told me! He wanted me to kill my father. I won't!_ Quisling relaxed and sighed. _I won't._

The redhead strode down the hallway, every muscle tense and ready for action. Her brilliantly green eyes burned like lasers into anyone who made the mistake of meeting them. She swept through the Imperial Palace unimpeded, everyone fearfully ducking out of her way. Unerringly, she found her way towards the quarters assigned to Darth Quisling. As she approached the doors, they slid open and Quisling stepped out to meet her. She stopped in mid-stride. "You!" she hissed. Then she continued with a note of disbelief in her voice, "You killed him."

Quisling outwardly appeared calm, though he was completely at a loss as to who this was and why she was here. His sharp eyes fell upon the lightsaber clipped to her belt. But surely this was no Jedi. "The Emperor?" he asked.

"Yes!" She stood poised as if to strike at him.

"I did," Quisling replied slowly, bracing himself for an attack. Plainly, this woman wished Sidious were still alive, and she might want revenge on his killer.

"Murderer!" she cried, and her saber was in her hand, its blood-red blade flashing towards Quisling's face.

Quisling's saber met hers in an explosion of energy. Shards of red light burst in all directions from the contact. Obviously, she did want revenge. As their sabers parted, Quisling stepped away from his doors to gain more maneuvering room. As he did so, he sized up his opponent. She was of average height and build but it was clear that the Dark Side was strong with her. Her anger at—and hatred of—him would make her even stronger. Unless he felt similarly towards her, he would have no hope of successfully wielding the Dark Side to win against her.

But Luke felt only pity. And he didn't want to kill her (the obvious way to win); he wanted to know who she was, where she had learned to use the Force, and why she was so upset that the Emperor was dead. So he merely defended against her attacks, using the Force to predict where her next stroke would come from, slipping back into the training Obi-Wan had given him on the Millennium Falcon so long ago. He could have done this blind.

Soon, the energy she was expending in her angry offensive began to tell. Her movements slowed and her pauses lengthened. During one such pause, as they stood watching each other, she whispered, "Who are you?"

He almost replied, "Luke Skywalker," but caught himself. Wondering at the near slip, he said, "Darth Quisling. And you are?"

She eyed him a while longer before she replied. "Mara Jade. I was the right hand of the Emperor. I could hear his voice even if I was on the other side of the Galaxy." Her eyes narrowed, becoming slits of green fire. "And you killed him." Disbelief flitted across her features. "Darth Quisling— what does that mean? Who are you? How—why did you kill him?"

Quisling debated what he should tell her. Now he knew who she was and why she was so angry, but did that mean that she deserved to know who he was and why he had killed Sidious? "I am Emperor Vader's apprentice," he began.

"I know that," she said, frustrated. "Where did you come from?"

Quisling allowed a small smile to curve his lips. He knew how to answer that. "He is my father."

She gaped at him. Clearly, she hadn't expected that. "You're Vader's son?" When Quisling nodded, she laughed harshly. "Now I understand. The Emperor never really trusted Vader, you know. Vader's too ambitious. I'll bet Vader never told him about you—he was saving you for this: to help him kill the Emperor and take control. Of course." She raised her saber again. "But what about me?" she asked. "Where do I go now?"

Quisling lowered his saber and held his other hand before him, palm forward. "I may have an answer to that," he said quickly, hoping she wouldn't continue this senseless duel.

She lowered her saber slightly and nodded once, curtly.

"Emperor Vader could use you," Quisling said.

"He doesn't need me; he's got you." She raised her saber again.

Quisling opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss as to what to say. How could he convince her?

"If I kill you, though," she said in a dangerous voice, "maybe he will need me." Again, she attacked.

Reacting on instinct, Luke used the Force to snatch Mara's saber out of her hand. She wasn't expecting that, and didn't have a chance to hold on to it. The lightsaber flew through the air in a perfect arc and Luke caught it in his left hand. Looking straight into her eyes, he deactivated both sabers. "Emperor Vader needs more than one person he can trust."

"And why me?" she demanded.

Quisling smiled again. "You are obviously skilled in use of the Dark Side. More so than I am, in fact."

She narrowed her eyes. "All right," she conceded, "we'll try it your way. If you give me back my saber, that is.

Quisling turned the deactivated lightsaber in his left hand around so that it pointed towards him. He clipped his own saber to his belt, then he purposely held hers so that, if activated, it would slice into his arm. Then, he stepped forward and offered it to her.

She took it and clipped it to her own belt. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Hold it like that. I could have activated it while I took it and it would've cut your arm off."

With another smile, Quisling replied. "I thought you were smarter than that. I was right."

She shook her head, grudging respect in her eyes. "You're crazy."

Quisling's smile widened. "Maybe I am."

"Father?" Darth Quisling stepped into Vader' audience chamber. He knew the Sith Lord waited inside, lurking in the shadows, would have known even if he had not heard the distinctive breathing. Mara Jade followed Quisling, nervously glancing about the cavernous room. Quisling stopped just inside. "I've brought someone to see you, Father."

Emperor Vader materialized out of the shadows, the sound of his breathing growing louder as he strode towards them. Mara stepped forward to stand beside Quisling, her chin held firm. Vader stopped and stood before her. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Mara bent her head and went to one knee. "My name is Mara Jade, Emperor Vader. I worked for your predecessor and I have come to offer my services to you."

Vader's sonorous voice rolled around the room. "And what skills do you offer?"

Mara's head remained bowed as she replied, "I have training in the use of the Dark Side of the Force, Emperor Vader."

Vader nodded slowly, then he turned to face his son. "What do you think of this, Lord Quisling?"

Wondering what his father could read in him, Quisling replied, "I believe she could be very useful. And I believe she can be trusted."

Mara's head rose slightly at that, but she quickly lowered it again as Vader returned his attention to her. "A second apprentice?" he mused.

"I was not apprentice to Lord Sidious," Mara interjected. "I only carried out his orders. He called me his right hand."

"Yet he trained you in the Force," Vader said.

"So that he could speak to me over great distance."

"And you carry a lightsaber," Vader continued. "Surely you are a formidable warrior."

"I have had occasion to fight," Mara replied.

Vader turned on his heel and walked to a viewing port. Gazing at the stars, he murmured, "Ages ago, the Sith were many. But they fought amongst themselves, bringing about their own downfall. One survived and he decreed that from then on, there should be but two at a time—a master and an apprentice—to prevent the infighting from occurring again." He turned to face them again. Quisling made as if to speak, but Vader raised his hand. "Perhaps the time has come to change the rules again. Mara Jade, would you wish to be a Sith if it were possible?"

Mara raised her head and stared at the Sith Lord. "I—I would," she whispered.

He nodded. "I will think on it." He turned away again. "You may go."

**A/N: I have changed the name of the main character in here as the name I originally used was, I discovered, laughable. Hopefully, the new name is better. I did a search on and and found the word 'quisling' which means "a person who betrays his or her own country by aiding an invading enemy, often serving later in a puppet government" - I think this is perfect.**


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